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"View Slideshow\n\nAway from the main highways, western Montana looks much as it did when Lewis and Clark first set eyes on its soaring peaks and crystal trout streams almost 200 years ago. Nowhere is this truer than along a nine-mile stretch of the Blackfoot River where, some years ago, six like-minded couples each acquired a parcel of virgin land with the understanding that the property would be developed according to the strict terms of a conservancy agreement. Four of these couples, including Tom and Lynn Meredith, turned to the stewardship of the Montana Land Reliance, a nonprofit land trust committed to conservation throughout the state.\n\n&amp;quot;Bears sharpen their claws on our back porch,&amp;quot; says Tom Meredith, &amp;quot;and we see cougars. That&amp;#39;s how unspoiled the area is, and our agreement with the Land Reliance is designed to keep things that way. Before we could close escrow,&amp;quot; he continues, &amp;quot;the trust had to approve our plans for the site. Every structure had to be carefully integrated into the landscape. All of the buildings had to be at least 300 feet from the river&amp;#39;s high-water mark, and once the design of a structure was approved, it could never be significantly modified, or replaced, unless it was destroyed by fire or some other act of God.&amp;quot;\n\nTo undertake the task of creating a ranch complex within these guidelines, the couple called on native Montana architect Nick Fullerton, who relished the assignment.\n\n&amp;quot;My personal interest is in creating architecture that blends with the environment, in terms of both materials and how it is sited,&amp;quot; says Fullerton. &amp;quot;In order to satisfy the trust&amp;#39;s requirements, that&amp;#39;s precisely what we were required to do.&amp;quot;\n\nThe first building to be erected on the sprawling, wooded lot was a barn. The Merediths had the good fortune to find an existing log structure, more than a century old, which they had taken apart, moved and reconstructed on a base of native Chief Cliff stone. A roof of recycled timbers and rusted corrugated tin helped sustain the feeling of well-weathered utility, which was further amplified by a cobblestone approach and a ranch-style plank fence.\n\n&amp;quot;Our idea was to emulate the way a 19th-century homestead would have evolved,&amp;quot; says Lynn Meredith. &amp;quot;The settler might well have started with just a barn. Then the family would have built a cabin of some sort, which would acquire additions as the family grew and prospered. So we started with the main guest structure, then added a master bedroom and a pair of guest rooms, using somewhat different materials, as if they were not actually built at the same time.&amp;quot;\n\n&amp;quot;The central element of the guesthouse,&amp;quot; explains Fullerton, &amp;quot;is the great room, which is a modern interpretation of the traditional homestead\u2014a square-cut, hand-hewn, dovetail-corner log structure. That part of the building incorporates a living room, a dining room and a kitchen, a family room and a bunk room. The materials used in the construction of the adjacent master bedroom\u2014primarily Chief Cliff stone\u2014suggest that the homesteader had enjoyed some success and was thinking in terms of permanence,&amp;quot; he continues. &amp;quot;The house also features simple architectural details, such as trellises and porches, that make it more livable.&amp;quot;\n\nKari Demond, of KLM Interiors in Austin, Texas, worked closely with Fullerton on all of the interiors. The guesthouse provided her with rich challenges and opportunities. Demond had undertaken several previous assignments for the couple, so she was familiar with their tastes and requirements.\n\n&amp;quot;Tom and Lynn are terrific clients,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;because they know what they want, but they allow a great deal of freedom in implementing their ideas. Their philosophy is that everything\u2014art, furniture, rugs\u2014should be appropriate to the location, but not in a rigid kind of way. In interiors like these, you&amp;#39;re sure to encounter western artifacts and Adirondack chairs, because they make sense, but you don&amp;#39;t have to limit yourself to the obvious. The master bedroom has an Arts and Crafts dresser and even an English barber chair.&amp;quot;\n\nOther buildings on the ranch include a stable, a clubhouse and a river pavilion. Each of these is an example of Fullerton&amp;#39;s ability to combine craftsmanship with his own sense of sculptural form, and each is marked by striking elements, such as the river pavilion&amp;#39;s spectacular fireplace constructed from massive river rocks.\n\nThroughout the complex, Demond was careful to introduce furnishings that are suited to the generous spaces. &amp;quot;Luckily,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;furniture has been scaled up over the past 10 years or so. In any case, the project allowed me to bring in an eclectic mix of pieces, from Danish antiques to Arts and Crafts items.&amp;quot;\n\n&amp;quot;When I start a new project,&amp;quot; remarks Nick Fullerton, &amp;quot;I like to make sketches of what I hope it&amp;#39;s going to look like. This time it turned out just like the sketches.&amp;quot;\n\n&amp;quot;The vision,&amp;quot; adds Tom Meredith, &amp;quot;has always been quite simple: to build a magnet that attracts family and friends. Equally important, our ranch provides opportunities to teach one of life&amp;#39;s most important lessons\u2014that place matters and that we must learn to live in harmony with nature because we only have one shot.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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